I have a love affair with arm warmers. My Etsy favorites list began with arm warmers years upon years ago, and very quickly drowned in them. Alas, I only bought a few, and I’ve wanted to be able to make my own ever since. Now that I can confidently say I know how to sew, I have the power. I made two pairs months ago that were essentially just tubes, but I wear them a lot. It’s nice to have that extra layer to slide on and off at will, and to extend the length of sleeves when needed.
But with this pattern release from Sinclair Patterns, my tubes will level up.
I tackled my first make from this pattern – the Birch Cuff – using some fabric scraps, and I’m mostly happy with the final product. I don’t love all the bulk that ends up around the wrist, and this is one of the simpler cuffs. I’m a little worried about that issue on the other cuffs with more layers.
Also, not a fan of the pattern instructions. There’s a lot of jumping back and forth and unnecessary steps and misleading directions (matching short ends vs. matching long ends.) I literally crossed out one whole step on the birch cuff because it was pointless.
All that aside, they are a fun way to extend the length of sleeves that feel too short, and since these are glove length, they’re nice to layer with garments where I don’t want another layer on my arms.
Project Settings
- zig-zag foot (A) for everything
- used stabilizer on all seams except for attaching the cuff to the wristband
- lightning stitch for the whole thing except where it called for basting
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